Ms Rosenberg Goes to Washington
by Malana
Summary: Willow goes to work at the White House, after an incident with Spike. Crossover with The West Wing.*Finished*
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ms. Rosenberg Goes to Washington

Part: Prolog

Author: Malana

X-over with The West Wing

Paring: Willow/Sam

Disclaimer: I don't own a single character. DonÕt sue, I'm poor. Kind of

Distribution: If you want it, just ask

Feedback: Please, this is my first fic.

A/N: This is AU, but age wise probably 6th season. Willow is a junior

in college. Tara and Willow broke up, but Tara never died. Willow never

got addicted to magic. Oh, there is also no Spuffy.

Willow hung up the phone, and just stared at it for a moment. She just couldn't believe it. A job offer from the White House. The White House! When her political science professor had suggested that she apply for a summer internship, she had only done it to please him. Willow had never thought that she actually had a chance at getting it. Besides she had responsibilities is Sunnydale. She didn't feel that she could just take off for the summer.

But, she had gotten an offer. And not just for an internship. Apparently, her application had really impressed someone. She had been offered a job in the Communications Department, on a trial basis.

Still, Willow didn't fell like she could abandon her friends. She was needed here. Besides, what did she know about working in Communications? She had heard President BartlettÕs speeches, and she had seen his main writers, Sam Seaborn and Toby Zeigler, on TV. They were amazing. There was no way she could write like that.

As cool as the offer was, Willow put it out of her mind. She knew that when they called her back at the end of the week to get her answer, she would have to turn them down. She should have done it in the first place.

That evening Willow was walked home alone from the Magic Box. Xander had offered to walk with her, but Willow had insisted that she would be fine. After all, she did have her magic to protect her. And Willow kind of liked walking alone. It gave her time to think.

She made it home without any trouble and went to the kitchen to make some tea. She had just put the water on to boil when she heard a voice behind her.

"'Ello, Red."

Willow was startled and whirled around, "Oh, God. Spike. You scared the hell out of me." Willow was breathing deeply, trying to calm her racing pulse.

"Sorry about that."

"What are you doing here?" Willow asked.

Spike grinned lazily, and something about it made Willow worry.

"I've got a real surprise. Thought you might like to help me celebrate." Spike grinned again and Willow felt her blood run cold.

One month later

Willow stood in the lobby of the White House. She was nervous, and wasn't exactly sure what she should do. She griped her briefcase tightly in her hand. She wondered for the hundredth time if she had done the right thing by coming here.

"Miss Rosenberg!"

Willow turned to see a cute, albeit slightly nerdy, man headed her way. She recognized him as the Deputy Chief of Staff. He reached her and extended his hand.

"Miss Rosenberg, glad to finally meet you. I'm Josh Lyman, we've talked on the phone."

"Of course. Mr. Lyman. It's nice to meet you." Willow brushed her hair behind her ear self- consciously.

Josh had to stop himself from starring, when Willow's cheek was reveled. A crescent shaped scar ran from the corner of her eye to her mouth. He noticed a few more scars on her neck. Not wanting to pry, Josh tried to hide his shock. 

"Please. Call me Josh."

Willow was aware of Josh's reaction to her injuries, but choose to ignore it. 

"Okay, call me Willow."

"Sure, Willow. Why don't you come with me? I'll show you around, and introduce you to the senior staff. You'll be working directly for Toby Ziegler and Sam Seaborn, but you'll find that we all work pretty closely together."

"That sounds great. I can't wait to meet every one. I worked in a group a lot back in Sunnydale. I had a friend, who owned a store, and we, me and my other friends, use to help, and we also just hung out there. It was a really cool place. And I'm starting to ramble, so I'll just shut up now." Willow felt her face turning red. She had mostly gotten over her rambling, but when she was nervous, it tended to rear its ugly head.

Josh smiled, "Don't worry about. A lot of people get shaken up when they're in the White House for the first time. Let's start the grand tour."

The two walked for a while, Josh pointing out all of the important places. Willow was excited. She still couldn't believe that this was all real. She was actually going to be working in the White House. She was also just glad to be out of Sunnydale. Especially after what had happened with Spike. After all he had done... But no, She wouldn't think about that now. Willow banished the memories from her mind. Suddenly she realized that Josh had stopped in the middle of the hallway. She paused, and turned to look at him.

"Listen, Willow," Josh began. "There's something you need to know."

"What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"Well. The thing is...you see...the rest of the staff doesn't know how young you are." Josh finished quickly.

"What?" Willow couldn't believe it. "How could they not know?"

"Well, Leo and I knew that people probably wouldn't react well, and there's been a lot going on. So we thought it would be best to wait to tell them."

Willow could feel panic rising up in her. "Why, so they can go all freaky as soon as I meet them?"

Josh looked abashed. "Yeah, you might have a point there."

"Okay," Willow sighed deeply. "So the only people who know how young I am are you and the Chief of Staff."

"The President knows of course, but yeah, other than him it's just Leo and me."

"Only you and Leo know what?" a new voice asked.

Willow and Josh both turned to look at the questioner. Willow's eyes widened as she recognized the man. Josh sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to this.

"Willow, this is Toby Ziegler. Toby, I'd like you to meet Willow Rosenberg." Josh paused, awaiting the inevitable explosion. He didn't have to wait long.

"Willow Rosenberg. As in the Willow Rosenberg who is going to be my Assistant Deputy?" Toby asked, clenching his teeth.

Willow gulped. Mr. Ziegler looked, for all the world, like a really pissed off Teddy Bear. If would have been funny, if it weren't so frightening. *Get a grip, Rosenberg.* Willow thought. *It can't be that bad.* Willow held out her hand.

"Yeah, that would be me."

Toby looked at the girl before him, not even aware that she was waiting to shake his hand.

"JOSH!"

Josh grimaced, "Toby, you really don't have to shout. I'm right here."

"This is a joke right? Tell me this is a joke. She can't be more than 19 years old."

Willow began to get a little pissed off.

"I'm 21, actually."

Toby looked at her again for a moment, than continued as if she had said nothing.

"She's a kid! For God's sake, Josh. You hired a child!"

"Actually, Leo hired her." Josh too was getting a little annoyed. But he had to admit that he had expected this. The staff should have been told sooner. Willow, was after all, still in college. She was extremely young to have gotten a position as the Assistant Deputy Director of Communications. This young woman would be part of the senior staff. But even though Josh could understand Toby's frustration, didn't mean that he would just sit back and take Toby's attitude.

"Look Toby, I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner that she was so young. But I assure you the girl is very qualified. She's talented, and she'll be a good addition to the staff."

"I don't care how qualified you think she is. She's a fucking kid. There had to have been so many better qualified people out there."

Willow had reached her limit.

"Um, hello? I'm standing right here. I can totally hear you. And I'm sorry they didn't tell you that I'm young, but not really my fault there is it? And if seems to me, that Leo McGarry, your boss, is a pretty smart guy. He probably knows his job pretty well. So if he hired me, which, um, he did, he probably had a reason. I don't know what that reason was, cause, you see, I was really surprised to get hired. It's not like I'm all 'Hey I'm so awesome cause I got a job at the White House, and I'm only 21. Look at how cool I am, lalalala.' But I would like it if you weren't all Mr. Growly and mean to me before you know me."

Toby and Josh both starred at her for a moment.

"Did you breathe at all during that?" Josh asked, with a smile. Not many people stood up to Toby. Sure, the girl had done it in some weird, rambling way, but she had stood up to him. Maybe she would work out well here.

Toby sighed, "If I had understood more of that, I would most likely have some sort of retort. I pray to God, that you can write speeches better than that, because I'd rather the President not be committed to an insane asylum." His words were less than friendly, but he said them with a smile. He was still less than pleased, but he would talk to Leo later. Willow did actually seem like a nice girl, and she didn't really deserve the blame for this. Leo had been the one to hire her, after all. 

"Why don't we take you to go meet the rest of the Communications staff?" Josh gave a sigh of relief, as he and Toby, led Willow on.

As the trio made their way to the Communications department, Toby looked at the young woman who would be joining his department. He couldn't believe that Leo had hired someone so young. What the hell was he supposed to do with a child in his department? It didn't help that she looked even younger than her 21 years. She looked really vulnerable. Though, Toby had caught a glimpse of fire inside of her, Willow would still have a hard time getting people to take her seriously. Hell, Toby didn't and he was her boss. Leo would defiantly be getting an earful from the Director of Communications. 

As Toby studied Willow he noticed the scar on her face. He didn't know how he had missed it when he first saw her, he must have been too surprised to notice it. But, now that he saw it, he noticed other scars too. Her neck was marked up, and Toby was willing to bet that her jacket and hose hide more scars. What the hell had happened to her? 

Willow felt Toby's eyes on her and glanced up at him. He quickly looked away when he noticed. 

"Is something wrong, Mr. Ziegler?" Willow questioned. 

"Nothing except the fact that you're freakishly young to be the Assistant Deputy Director of Communication." Toby quickly covered. 

Josh rolled his eyes, "Toby, seriously. Drop it." 

Toby smirked "Oh, I really don't think that is going to happen anytime soon." 

Willow sighed. God, this was going to be hard. It hadn't really occurred to her that her age would be an issue. It should have. She was supposed to be the smart one. Maybe she shouldn't have taken this job. She couldn't expect every one to be as friendly as Josh Lyman was. Toby scared her a little. 

Willow looked up and saw one of the handsomest men that she had ever seen. Sam Seaborn, she realized quickly. He looked even more amazing in person then he did on TV. 

"Sam!" Toby called out when he noticed his Deputy. "Get over here!" 

Deputy Director of Communications, Sam Seaborn, sighed when he heard his boss call him. He didn't sound happy. Then again, Toby rarely sounded happy. He slowly made his way over to where Toby stood with Josh, and some kid Sam didn't recognize. 

"Hey, Josh. What's up, Toby?" 

Toby grinned, rather frighteningly. He knew that Sam would be pissed about this too. Maybe if they went to Leo together, they could change the mind of the stubborn Chief of Staff. 

"Sam, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Josh said, motioning to Willow. 

"Sam. This is Willow Rosenberg." Toby interjected. 

"Hi." Willow said, apprehensively. 

Sam frowned for a moment, the name sounded familiar. Suddenly it clicked. 

"Wait a minute. You mean Willow Rosenberg as in..." 

Toby interrupted, "As in the newest member of the White House senior staff." 

"You've gotta be kidding me." 

Josh had had enough. He hadn't been surprised with Toby's reaction, but he had expected Sam to be a little more subtle. He saw how Willow's face had fallen at Sam's last comment. 

"Okay, that's it. Toby. Sam. I want to talk to you now!" He pointed at Toby's office door. "Get in." He turned to Willow as Sam and Toby made their way into the office. "Willow, I'm really sorry about this. If you would just excuse us for a moment." 

"Sure," Willow said, more than a little uncomfortable. 

Josh smiled at her, and went into the office. Willow winced, as he slammed the door behind him. 

Willow sat outside of the office, waiting for Josh, Toby, and Sam to return. Josh had seemed really pissed off. She had to admit, it did make her a little happy. It was nice to have someone who was willing to stick up for her. She did understand that it had to be a shock for people to see someone so young in an important decision, but she didn't think it was fair that they yell at her about it. After all, she had been totally surprised to get this job, she hadn't asked for it. Hell, at first she wasn't even going to take it. 

Willow stared at Toby's office door, as she heard someone's (she guessed it was Sam's) voice rise. 

"Damnit, Josh. How the hell is she going to handle this job? She's only a kid!" 

"Yes, she's young. But do you realize how good she must be, if Leo was so impressed that he hired a 21 year old?" 

"Josh..." Toby started 

"Guys, I'd be just as pissed off as you, usually. But I saw her internship application, and I saw her interview. She's amazing. Yell at Leo, if you want to. But back off of Willow, because she's a sweet girl" 

Willow felt her throat go dry, as memories flooded her mind. The voices in Toby's office lowered, but Willow didn't notice. She was too stuck on Josh's last words. * A sweet girl. *

One Month earlier 

"What are you doing here?" Willow asked. 

Spike grinned lazily, and something about it made Willow worry. 

"I've got a real surprise. Thought you might like to help me celebrate." Spike grinned again and Willow felt her blood run cold. 

"Wh...What's there to celebrate?" Willow had really grown to like the bleach blond vampire. He had helped them a lot the past few years, and Willow considered him part of the group. But something about him was scaring her. 

"Oh, come on, Red. You're a smart one." Spike moved closer to Willow, backing her up against the wall. "I'll give you three guesses." He leaned forward, and breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. 

Willow felt herself begin to tremble. He was right; she was smart. 

"You...you got the chip out didn't you?" 

Spike smiled, "Got it in one. Good for you! Now...let's have some fun." Spike leaned forward again, then stopped. "Oh, wait. I almost forgot." Spike reached into his coat and pulled out something. He brought his first to his mouth, opened his hand, and blew gently. A fine powered covered Willow's face, making her cough. 

"Just a little something to make sure you don't go trying anything sneaky. It's Takra root. Suppresses magical ability." 

Willow drew in a shaky breath. "Please, Spike. Please, let me go." She tried to push him away from her, but he was just too strong. 

"Hmmm...No, don't think so pet." He grabbed her hair, and pulled her neck to the side, brushing his fangs against her skin. 

Tears filled Willow's eyes. "Why are you doing this, Spike?" 

Spike let go of her hair, and looked at her for a long while. "Because you're such a sweet girl, luv." 

Despite her terror, Willow was confused. "wha...what?" 

"What can I say, Pet? The Big Bad is back." 

Present Day. 

"Willow....Willow!" 

Willow snapped out of her daydream, to see Josh standing in front of her with Toby and Sam. Josh looked concerned. The others looked pissed off. 

Willow felt herself blushing. "I'm sorry. I was just a little lost in thought." 

Josh smiled. "That's okay. The White House can be a little overwhelming you first time around. Why don't you come see your office?" 

"Sounds great." Willow said, standing up. 

The group walked into the office beside Toby's. 

"This is your office." The Director of Communications said gruffly. "Mine is right next door, and Sam's is besides mine. You report directly to Sam, who reports directly to me. Right now Sam and I have some work to do, but Josh is going to show you around the rest of the west wing. Tomorrow you'll be starting an actually workday. Sam will take you through the basics then." Toby nodded at Josh, and left, Sam trailing after him. 

Willow looked at her new office, then at Josh. "They don't like me very much, do they?" 

Josh smiled sympathetically. "They'll come around. Come on. There are some more people you should meet." 

THAT NIGHT 

Willow sat on the floor of her new apartment, her back to her bed. It had been one hell of a day. She was still overwhelmed by everything that had happened. After leaving Sam and Toby, Josh had introduced Willow to some of the other important people in the White House. She had met C.J. the Press Secretary, Charlie Young, the PresidentÕs personal assistant, and Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff. Leo had interviewed her over the phone, but she hadn't met him before today. Josh had also introduced her to Donna Moss, his assistant. 

Despite her problems with Toby and Sam, Willow was happy with how things had gone. Everyone else she had met seemed really great. CJ had been a little surprised, but she hadn't made any disparaging comments on Willow's age. Charlie had been great. He was only a few years older than Willow. She liked him immediately. He just seemed like an incredibly sweet guy. Leo had been very friendly, but then again, he had been the one to hire her. But even though he was nice, he still intimidated the hello out of her. 

Donna seemed really cool too. Willow could already pick up on the chemistry between Donna and Josh. Apparently the two weren't dating, but it was easy enough to see that the attraction was there. Donna had warmly welcomed Willow, and the two had agreed to meet for lunch the next day. Willow was excited. She had a feeling that she would become friends with Josh's pretty assistant. 

Tomorrow would be an even busier day. She would begin to actually start her job, as Sam would be showing her the ropes. That made her a little nervous. From what she had heard, Sam was actually a really nice guy; and God knows he was incredibly handsome; but he had been less then friendly to Willow so far, she hoped that would change. In addition to starting her job, Willow was supposed to be meeting the President. She was terrified. She, Willow Rosenberg, was going to be meeting the President of the United States. Who would have thought? From shy little bookworm, to killer of vampires and demons, to Assistant Deputy Director of Communications for the White House. 

Though she was nervous, and excited. Willow knew that she would need her rest. Soon she was asleep. Then the dreams came. And the night would be anything but restful.

Willow awoke to find that she couldn't move. She tried desperately to remember what had happened. She was tied to her bed. But how had she gotten like this? Then she heard something that made her blood run cold. 

"Oh, the witch awakens. Goodie." 

Spike. Willow remembered now. Spike. The kitchen. His chip. Apparently he had knocked her unconscious. She wished she were still out cold. She watched as Spike stood over her. He had a sadistic grin on his face and he held a very sharp looking knife in his hand. 

"So, Luv. Where should I start?" He slowly lowered the blade to her pale skin. 

Willow sat bolt upright in bed. She was panting in fear. She sat for a moment, trying to calm herself. She looked at the clock. 4:00 am. She had a few hours to kill before she would head to the White House. Willow knew that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight. 

A few hours later Willow made her way to her new office. She carried with her a cardboard box, with office supplies, and a few personal effects. Lot's of people said hi to her, but though she recognized many of their faces, she was at a loss for names. She had simply met too many people yesterday. 

"Willow, Sam wants to see you first thing,Ó a woman said, as soon as Willow had put her box on her desk. 

"Oh, hi. It's Ginger, right?" Willow asked. 

"Yes, it is. Sam's should be in his office." Ginger turned, and went back to her desk. 

"ThanksÓ Willow called after her. 

Willow took a deep breath. She was a little nervous. She would be spending most of the day with Sam, and she knew that he didn't like her. It made her mad. She had done nothing to deserve his, or Toby's, anger. She couldn't help the fact that she was young. She braced herself, and went to go find her boss. 

4 months later

Willow had been working at the White House for four months now. She was really enjoying her job. She was finally starting to feel like she was part of the team. She wasn't even having problems with Toby anymore. Sam, however, was a different matter. She wasn't even sure why, exactly. She just couldn't get along with him. It didn't matter what the issue was, the two of them always ended up fighting, even when they basically agreed with each other.

Willow sat at her desk working. She glanced up, and her eyes rested on a picture of her with Xander, Buffy, Dawn, and Anya. They all had big smiles. She missed them a lot. Luckily Xander and Dawn would be visiting soon. She was very excited, but disappointed that the others wouldn't be coming too. Buffy couldn't leave Sunnydale unprotected, and Anya didn't want to have to close the Magic Shop, and as the ex-demon had put it "miss out on all of the valuable money making opportunities." So Xander and Dawn would be coming by themselves. Willow was looking forward to seeing them, and giving them a tour of the White House. Dawn had sounded really excited about it the last time Willow had talked to her on the phone.

Willow sighed happily, then went back to going over the speech the President would be reading the next week. Most of the senior staff was in the conference room across the hall, they were talking about the speech. It would be an important one, as it covered many of the new policy initiatives that they would be putting into motion in the coming year. She paused, noticing something was wrong. She was on her feet and into the conference room in 10 seconds flat.

"Who the hell decided cut the fifth section?" Willow asked, the door slamming behind her.

The room fell completely silent, as everyone looked at her. Toby cleared his throat.

"Umm, well. It was Sam's idea, but we all agreed that it would be for the best at this time." Toby could tell that the young redhead was angry, more angry then he had every seen her before, even during her worst fights with Sam.

Willow whirled around to look at the cute Deputy Communications Director. Sam glared right back at her; ready for the fight he was sure would come.

"Well?" Willow asked, wanting him to explain herself.

Sam sighed, "I'm sorry, but with all the other fights we have going right now, we can't launch an aggressive campaign for gay rights."

"Damnit, I've been working on the issue for the past three months, planning on the best way to work it into the speech. For God's sake you're the one who assigned me to work on it. It's an important issue. We can't just drop it!"

"We're not going to drop it. We just can't do it now. We can only fight for so many things at a time. Of course it's an important issue, one that we're going to keep working on. But if we introduce this right now, we won't get anywhere with it, and it will hurt us when we try to get other things through Congress."

"Oh, come on, Sam. This administration has been pushing back this issue for too long. We claim to fully support gay rights, but we don't do anything about it. When the hell are we going to get off our asses and actually stand up for what we believe in?"

Josh decided it was time to step in. "Willow, it wasn't just Sam. We all agreed that if was for the best. We didn't want to take it off the table, but for now we have to."

"But..." Willow began.

"Willow, drop it. It's not going to change anything. I'm sorry. We need to move on. Are there any other problems you see with the speech?"

Willow sighed and tried to pull herself together. She was pissed, but the last few months had taught her to move beyond her emotions when she had work that needed to be done. "Yeah, umm... the language in the section on education is clunky. It's needs to be more direct, and it lacks punch."

Toby nodded, glad that Willow had moved on "She's right. The entire section needs to be reworked. Sam, I want to see a new version of it before you go home tonight."

Suddenly the door opened, and Ginger stuck her head in, "Willow, security called. They say there is a gentleman claiming that heÕs a friend of yours. Apparently he says there's an emergency, and he has to see you right away."

"Did they tell you the man's name?" Willow asked 

"Yeah, they said his name is Angel."


	2. Chapter 2

Willow felt a lump in her throat. "Did you say Angel?"   
"Yeah," Ginger replied. "Should I tell security to send him up?" She asked the redhead. But Willow was already out of the door. She ran though the corridors, her mind racing. If Angel was here, demanding to see her, something must be seriously wrong. What could it be? Why would Angel be in Washington? Willow couldn't figure it out.   
She burst into the lobby, and stopped short, her eyes searching for her handsome friend. She panted, out of breath from running.   
"Willow!" A familiar voice called out.   
Willow turned and saw Angel. She raced towards him and into his arms. He enveloped her in a tight hug.   
"Angel, Willow began, pulling away, "What is it? What's wrong?"   
Angel looked around the lobby. "Is there someplace private we can talk?" he asked.   
"Sure, let's go to my office."   
The walked quickly, but quietly to Willow's office. Glancing into the conference room, Willow could see her co-workers watching her questioningly, but she ignored them, and shut her office door. Willow studied Angel intently.   
"It's nice to see you again, Willow." Angel seemed uncomfortable.   
"I haven't seen you since the night that.... Since you stopped Spike from..." Willow found that she couldn't finish the sentence.   
Angel glanced up at Willow, then stared at the floor, "I was in the hospital, when you were still unconscious. But something came up, and I had to go back to L.A. I'm sorry about that."   
"No. Don't be, I understand. Buffy told me about it. I just never really got a chance to thank you."   
"You don't have to."   
"Yes, I do. You saved my life, Angel. I owe you everything."   
There was an uncomfortable pause, then Willow remembered exactly what was going on.   
"Wait a minute. Why are you here, Angel?"   
"I have some news. I don't want you to freak out when you hear it, because I haven't been able to verify it yet. But on the chance that it is true, you deserve to be told now."   
Willow felt her concern growing, "Just tell me what it is, Angel."   
Angel took a deep, albeit unnecessary, breath. "I'm in town trying to track down some important scrolls. Anyway, I have some sources in the area, and one of them told me something rather disturbing." He paused.   
"Angel, for the love of God, what is it?"   
"Spike has been spotted by several people in areas around London." Angel looked at Willow, trying to gauge her reaction.   
"That can't be." Willow said, flatly.   
"I know..."   
"You staked him yourself!"   
Angel took Willow's hand, trying to comfort her. "I know that. Normally I would just dismiss these claims. But several people claim to have seen him."   
Willow pulled her hand free, "It's not possible. Spike is dead!" She felt tears filling her eyes as memories at what had happened to her all those months ago, came flooding back. "He's dead, Angel," she choked out. "He's dead."   
Angel ran his hand through his hair, nervously. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. Not until I was sure, at least. I'm sorry. I just thought you should know. I'm going to London to investigate."   
Willow turned to face her friend. Tears streamed down her face, as she hugged him tightly. "No, you did the right thing. I'm glad you told me. Really, I am. You're really going all the way to London?"   
Angel nodded, stroking Willow's hair, comfortingly. "I have to. I need to know. If it really is Spike then something incredibly strange is going on. Are you going to be okay?"   
Willow sniffled a little, "I...I think so. When are you leaving?"   
"Later tonight. I have some connections, so I found a plane that will keep me out of the sun without anyone suspecting anything. I called Giles and told him what was going on. He said he would tell the others."   
"Thank you, Angel. You've done so much..."   
"You've done a lot for me too, Willow. Nothing I can do will ever be enough to repay you for the gift you gave me." Angel gave Willow one last hug, and then pulled away.   
"I hate to do this, but I really should go. I have some things to get ready before my flight."   
"Of course. I should be getting back to work anyway. I can't exactly tell them I need time off because I'm scared of a vampire, who even if he is actually alive, is all the way in London." She smiled softly.   
Angel returned her smile, glad that she could still be light hearted, given the circumstances.   
Willow sighed, "I'll walk you to the lobby."   
  
  
-----A few hours later--Willow's Apartment---   
  
Willow didn't know how she had gotten through her meeting. But it had been good to take her mind off her personal problems, and focus on work instead. That was the thing about her job. It took so much effort and thought, that anything else tended to fall by the wayside.   
But now she was home, and she had nothing to occupy her thoughts, except Angel's visit. Spike might be alive, while not technically alive, considering he was a vampire, but still, Spike might be undead. How was it possible? Willow had seen him dusted with her own two eyes. She had seen Angel drive a stake into his heart. The memories were still crystal clear. It was like if had happened yesterday. She remembered everything. Every word Spike had said, everything he had done. It was all so terrible....   
No. She wouldn't let her think about it now. She would focus on something else, anything else. Then Willow remembered what had gotten her angry earlier that day. Sam Seaborn. Or rather Sam convincing everyone to take the issue of gay rights out of the speech. It still confused her that he had done it. He was so passionate about social issues. She knew that a lot of the time, Sam had to be convinced to make comprises for the sake of politics. Well, she would figure out what was going on. She would convince Sam that it should be put back into the speech. Willow put on her coat, and checked her address book. Soon she was one her way to Sam's apartment.   
  
  
--Sam's Place---  
Sam groaned when he heard his doorbell ring. He had been headed to bed to get some much-needed sleep. Who would be bothering him at this time of night? He hoped there wasn't any sort of emergency. But what could it be that someone would show up at his apartment, instead of simply calling him.   
Sam sighed and threw on his robe as he headed for the door. He glanced through the peephole, and groaned again. What could she possibly want? He unlocked the door and opened it.   
"Willow, what are you doing here?" Sam asked   
"Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to discuss something." Willow took in his robe, boxers, and white t-shirt. She felt a little bit guilty, realizing that she might have woken him up. "I'm sorry. Were you asleep?"   
"No. I was just headed to bed though. Look, if this is about the gay rights thing, I really don't want to talk about it right now. We can discuss it in the morning."   
Willow knew that he was right. She shouldn't be here, but she for some reason she would let herself back down. "I think we need to talk about it now."   
"Oh, Jesus Christ. Why have you latched onto this so hard?" Sam moved aside to let Willow enter his apartment. He could tell that it was going to be a long night. He wasn't sure what it was, but Willow just drove him insane.   
"I've 'latched onto it' because it's an important issue. One we shouldn't just brush aside."   
Sam felt himself getting angry, "Look, we aren't brushing it aside. It's simply not the right time right now. We are fighting too many battles right now. If we try to push the bill on gay rights, we are going to lose something else. It's not like I'm homophobic or something. I want to do something, but we can't do it right now."   
Willow saw Sam's anger, and it fueled her own. "Then when is the right time, god damnit! When are we going to do something? I'm so sick of us speaking one way, and acting another. We're supposed to be the good guys!"   
From the look on Sam's face Willow could tell that she had crossed the line. He looked angrier than she had ever made him before, and given some of their past fights, that was really saying something.   
"How dare you! How the hell can you say that? You work for one of the best presidents this country has ever had. How dare you imply that he is anything less than that! Yes we make compromises, but we work hard to do the right thing." Sam was really yelling now. "We are the good guys!"   
Willow stared at Sam in shock for a moment. Then, before she even knew what she was doing, she acted. Willow grabbed Sam's robe and pulled him towards her. Sam was too shocked to resist as she put her hands on the back of his head, and pulled him close and kissed him. Sam responded for a moment, then realized exactly what he was doing. He pushed Willow away, gently, but firmly.   
"What the hell was that?" he asked softly.   
Willow blushed bright red. "Oh my God. I'm sorry. I... I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have. I didn't mean..."   
Willow turned to go, but Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her back, turning her around to face him. The two looked at each other for a moment. Willow honestly wasn't sure who started it. But suddenly they were kissing again. It was a hard kiss, angry, and unromantic. But it was full of passion.   
"We can't do this." Sam breathed as the broke for air.   
"No, we can't." Willow responded. "Where's your bedroom?"   
Sam didn't hesitate. He swept Willow up in his arms. They began kissing again as they made their to the bedroom.  
  
  
--Later--  
Willow woke with a start. Where was she? It took her a few seconds to remember. She glanced to her side, and saw that Sam was still asleep. What the hell had they been thinking? They hated each other. Why had they...God, Willow didn't even want to think about it. She looked around the room, wondering what she should do. Her eyes settled on Sam's alarm clock. 7:42.   
"Shit!"   
Willow's exclamation managed to wake Sam. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Willow.   
"Oh, God. What the hell were we thinking?"   
Willow glared at him. "And a good morning to you to, Sam!"   
Sam sighed. "Oh, come on. Like you're happy about what happened. What, we temporally lost our sanity and had sex, so suddenly you don't hate me anymore."   
"Oh, trust me, I still hate you." Then Willow remembered what had caused her to wake Sam in the first place. "It's 7:45."   
"Yeah?" Sam asked. "So what?"   
"We both have a meeting to be at in 20 minutes." Willow extracted herself from the bed, wrapping a blanket around herself as she did.   
"Fuck." Sam said. "What are we going to do?"   
"I don't know. But I don't exactly have time to go back to my apartment. We can't be late for this meeting."   
Sam nodded. "Okay. Jump in the shower. Get dressed and I'll do the same."   
"Alright. But it's gotta be fast. And I'll be wearing the same cloths as yesterday. But it'll be okay, cause I'll just tell everyone that I was working all night. But we can't walk in at the same time; cause what if people suspect something. But there isn't any reason for anyone to suspect anything, cause everyone thinks we hate each other. Which, um, we do. So it'll all be okay."   
Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay, you really need to stop with the rambling. Everything will be fine. No one's going to suspect anything. Alright. We'll be fine." Sam was pissed at himself. How had he gotten into this mess? What had come over him last night? What had come over her?   
  
17 minutes and 30 seconds later Sam was walking into the Communications department bullpen. Willow followed a few moments later. Neither of them was exactly looking their best. Toby was headed out of his office when he spotted them.   
"Sam. Willow. Let's go. We've gotta meeting."   
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm all set."   
Willow headed to her office. "I'll be there in a second. I just need to grab some stuff."   
Toby watched her go. "Well make it fast." he called after her. Turning to Sam he lowered his voice. "Wow, she really looks like hell."   
"Yeah," Sam murmured in a manner he hoped was convincing. "I wonder what's wrong with her?"   
Toby looked at Sam. He had the feeling that something was bothering him, but wasn't sure he wanted to broach the subject. It Sam had problems he would talk to Josh, or he would bring it up to Toby on his own.   
  
  
That Evening  
  
All in all, the meeting went remarkably well, which was more than a little unusual. Willow and Sam didn't get into any arguments. Actually, they barely even spoke to each other, or to anyone else for that matter. Willow knew that their odd behavior might be noticed. But  
she didn't know how to fix it. She just could barely bring herself to look at Sam.  
Her feelings about him hadn't even really changed. He still just made her angry. She wasn't sure how she could have let things get so out of hand the night before. How could she work with him now? How could she face him everyday? What the hell was she going to do? Luckily she had been out of the office most of the day. She had a lot of meetings, which meant she hadn't seen Sam since the meeting that morning. She was relieved.  
"Willow, wait up." a voice called behind her.  
Willow stopped walking and turned to see Josh walking her way. "Oh, hi Josh. What's up?"  
Josh caught up with her, and the two started walking again. "Not much. Hey, I need to get a copy of the speech for Miami."  
"Okay. I'm headed to my office right now anyway. I have it on my desk."  
"Great. So how are you doing?" Josh's voice reflected his concern. Willow just seemed to be off in her own world. Josh was worried.  
Willow hoped to God that she wouldn't blush. "I'm doing fine. Why do you ask?"  
"You were just really quiet at the staffing this morning. Are you sure your okay?"  
"I'm fine." Willow insisted.  
Just then Willow looked up to see Sam headed towards her and Josh. Donna was with him. The two seemed to be chatting happily. Then Sam looked up and saw Willow. The two pairs came to a stop in-between Sam and Willow's offices doors.  
"Hey, you two what's going on?" Josh asked.  
"Not much. We were just talking," Donna replied. "Hey, Willow are we still on for drinks tonight?"  
"Hi, Donna. Yeah drinks sound great." Willow tried to sound enthusiastic. "Um, hello Sam." she added awkwardly.  
Sam flashed a brief, tense smile "Hey, Willow." Sam looked down at the floor.  
Josh and Donna exchanged glances. Something was definitely up. Willow's eyes were on the ceiling.  
"Well, I... I have work to do." Willow rushed by Sam and Donna, practically running to her office. She shut the door quickly behind her.  
"Yeah, I have stuff to do too." Sam said, and hurried into his own office.  
Donna and Josh looked at each other again.  
"What the hell was that?" Josh asked.  
Donna raised her eyebrows, "I have not idea. I'll talk to Willow, you handle Sam."  
  
----Willow's Office-----   
  
Donna knocked softly. When she got no response, she slowly opened the door, and stepped inside. Willow was sitting at her desk, starring blankly into space.   
"Willow?" Donna gently tried to get the redhead's attention. "Are you alright?"   
Willow looked up, finally noticing Donna. She shook her head. "I'm fine, really."   
Donna didn't believe her for a moment. She pulled up a chair, and sat in front of Willow's desk. "Did something happen with Sam? I mean you too never get along, but did you have a particularly bad fight or something? Because both Josh and I noticed you guys were acting strangely."   
Willow sighed. She had become very close to Donna over the last few months. She felt that if she didn't tell someone what had happened she would burst. She knew she could trust Donna to keep what had happened a secret. She took a deep breath and looked Donna in the eyes.   
"Yeah, something happened. But it wasn't a fight. Well it was at first, but then things just kind of got out of hand, and I really don't know what to do."   
Donna was concerned. "Tell me what happened. I'm sure it'll be okay.   
Willow laughed bitterly. "I don't know that it will be. But okay. I'll tell you what happened.   
I went to Sam's apartment late last night, to talk to him about the speech for next week. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. We started fighting. It got pretty bad, and I, well...I kissed him."   
Donna's jaw dropped in shock. "You kissed Sam?!"   
Willow winced. "Shhh. I really don't want the whole office to hear you."   
"I'm sorry, I'm just really surprised. But don't worry about it too much. A kiss isn't the end of the world."   
Willow blushed. Now came the really hard part. "Well, that's not all that happened. So, I grabbed him and kissed him, and then after moment, he stopped the kiss. I got really embarrassed, and I turned to leave. Then he kinda pulled me back and we started kissing again, pretty heavily. And well...." Willow trailed off.   
Donna just starred at her. "Are you telling me that you and Sam...."   
Willow looked at her desk, avoiding Donna's gaze. "We slept together."   
"Oh my God! What were you thinking?" Donna yelled.   
"Donna, right now I don't need 'what were you thinking?' I need, 'It's okay Willow, everything will be okay.'"   
Donna felt bad, "I'm sorry, Will. I really am, but I'm shocked. You and Sam hated each other."   
Willow sighed again. "We still do. That's the thing. We had, um, sex. But we still hate each other."   
"That's really unhealthy"   
"I know that, Donna! But what am I supposed to do?" Willow pleaded.   
"You and Sam need to talk to C.J." Donna replied. She really wanted to help Willow, but she didn't know what she could do.   
"C.J.!" Willow's eyes' widened, "Why C.J.? I don't want to talk to C.J. C.J. will not react well. She'd get all scary and everything."   
"Willow. You're 21. Sam's older than you, and he's your boss. It's also very well known that you hate him. If the press gets a hold of this..."   
Willow interrupted. "But the press isn't going to get a hold of it. How could they?" Willow was filled with dread. Things were getting worse and worse. She honestly hadn't even thought about the press situation."   
"It's the press, Willow. They manage to find out about a hell of a lot of things we don't want them to. C.J. needs to know. She'll tell you what you need to do."   
Willow nodded. "I guess you're right. I guess I should go talk to Sam."   
Donna agreed, "That's a good idea. And Willow. I really am sorry. If you want to talk about it some more later, you know the emotional side of it. I'm here to listen."   
Willow smiled sadly. "Thank you, Donna."  



	3. Chapter 3

---Sam's Office---   
  
Josh followed Sam into his office. "What's going on, Sam?" he asked his best friend.   
Sam didn't want to talk about it. He loved Josh like a brother, but he didn't want to get into this.   
"Nothing's going on."   
Josh raised an eyebrow. "Really, so that whole thing with Willow back there was perfectly normal?"   
Sam swore under his breath. He hadn't realized that he had been that obvious. "Willow and I never get along, Josh. You know that."   
But Josh wasn't about to let this go. "Yeah, but normally you two fight and make snarky comments towards each other. That out there was different. That was full of awkwardness. I mean come one, what happened? Did you get drunk and sleep with her or something." Josh grinned, trying to inject some humor into the conversation.   
Sam was quiet for a moment to long for Josh's comfort. Then he muttered something Josh couldn't really hear.   
"What did you say?" Josh asked, hoping to god he had misheard.   
Sam sighed, and spoke louder. "I said we weren't drunk."   
Josh's grin faded. "Please tell me you're kidding." He has to be kidding. Josh thought. There's simply no way that he...But the look on Sam's face told Josh his friend was serious.   
"Okay, you have to tell me everything."   
Sam got up from his desk and began pacing. He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, then proceeded to tell Josh exactly what had happened last night. Telling the story just made him more angry, at himself, and at Willow. What the hell had they done. They hated each other. And yet somehow that had turned into a weird sort of sexual passion.   
Sam sat back down and buried his head in his hands. "Christ, Josh. What do I do? She's year's younger then me, and I'm her boss. Not to mention the fact that we don't even like each other. What do I do?"   
Josh was deep in thought. He felt bad for Sam, and for Willow. But he was also more than a little surprised. This could get really bad. Josh knew what Sam had to do. Not that Sam would want to do it. Hell, Josh wouldn't want to do it if he was in Sam's shoes.   
"Sam, you have to go to C.J."   
"Yeah." Sam knew that, but he really didn't want to.   
"You remember what happened with Laurie."   
"Yeah"   
"C.J. told you to always go to her first in situations like this."   
"Yeah."   
"Speaking of that, you really can't get into situations like this anymore."   
Sam laughed pathetically. "Trust me, Josh, I know that."   
"Okay. And hey, if you want to talk about it, you know, not just the political side, I'm here for you." Josh knew it sounded sappy. But it was also true.   
  
There was a knock on the door.   
"Sam?" Sam heard Willow softly call his name. He guessed that he may as well get this over with now.   
"Yeah, come one in."   
Josh stood up as Willow entered the room. She looked terrible, so did Sam, really.   
"All right, Sam. I'll talk to you later. You wanna meet for drinks?"   
"God yes!" Sam stood up again when Willow came in. He watched Josh leave, trying to think of something to say to Willow. He was glad when she spoke first.   
"Umm...Sam. I think we should talk to C.J. about what happened last night. You know, in case...in case this somehow gets out." Willow looked at him nervously, not really sure whether she was hoping he would agree, or not. If he didn't then she could put off talking to the Press Secretary, but she knew that it shouldn't be put off.   
Sam was glad Willow had brought it up. He didn't want to have to fight with her about it. As much as they may fight, it would be much easier talking to C.J. if they showed a united front.   
"I agree. I'll tell Carol we need to talk to C.J. as soon as possible." Sam paused. "Actually, why don't we just go now, and see if she's in her office?"   
Willow nodded. "Okay, that sounds good."   
  
  
---C.J.'s office----   
  
C.J. looked at Sam and Willow from behind her desk. She noticed that they both looked worried as hell. What had they done now? C.J. took off her glasses, and sat down.   
"All right. Have a seat and tell me why it was so important for you to talk to me."   
Sam and Willow looked at each other. Each person hoping that the other would speak first. Finally, Sam took the initiative.   
He cleared his throat. "Well, Willow and I have gotten ourselves into a bit of a mess."   
C.J. pursed her lips. "How big of a mess?" she asked.   
Willow shifted uncomfortably under C.J.'s gaze.   
"Pretty big, actually," Sam continued. He paused for a moment, "Willow and I slept together." he eventually managed to spit out.   
C.J. had had a million of ideas running through her head as to what Sam and Willow's problem might have been. This was not one of them. It wasn't even close. She already felt a headache coming on.   
"You two slept together? Well, that's just great. Because this is exactly what our administration needs. I was just thinking that we didn't have enough scandal."   
"Look, C.J..." Sam began.   
"No, you just shut up for now. What, was the thing with Laurie not enough for you. You felt the need to create more problems?"   
Willow interjected, "Who's Laurie? Is she the woman who you slept with who turned out to be a call girl?"   
Sam nodded, but remained silent. C.J. felt herself getting angrier by the second.   
"Sam, how the hell could you let this happen."   
"It's my fault." Willow couldn't stand being silent any longer. "I initiated it. I take full  
responsibility for what happened. Don't just yell at Sam."   
C.J. glared at Willow. "Trust me, I'm yelling at you too. Now tell me exactly how this happened.   
  
The next 15 minutes were spent telling C.J. the story of the night before. Willow and Sam both spoke, many times interrupting each other. Though they supported one another, it was obvious there was still a lot of hate between them. When they were done, C.J. spoke again.   
"Does anyone else know about this?"   
Sam and Willow both looked at the floor. Willow spoke first.   
"I told Donna."   
Sam grimaced. "I told Josh." He knew that C.J. would be pissed. He was right.   
"Sam, I seem to remember telling you that in situations like this you talk to me first!"   
"I know." Sam replied. "And I'm sorry. But what are we going to do?"   
C.J. thought for a moment. "I'll get back to you later. I'm honestly not sure exactly what to do. I'll think about it. And I want to see you in my office first thing tomorrow morning. For now, get the hell out of my office. And for god's sake, don't tell anyone else about what happened."   
Willow and Sam thanked C.J. and left her office. They didn't say a word to each other. Sam was angry, Willow was just shaken. She hadn't really experienced C.J.'s wrath before. She really wasn't looking forward to Toby finding out, or Leo. Things were just going to get worse. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice.   
"Wills!"   
Willow turned and, for the first time all day, truly smiled.  
  
"Xander! Dawn!" Her problems momentarily forgotten, Willow ran to her friends. Soon she was enveloped in a tight group hug.   
"When did you get here? I thought you weren't coming until Friday."   
Xander and Dawn laughed. "Will, it is Friday." Dawn said.   
"Are you doing okay, Willow?" Xander asked, a little concerned.   
Willow knew that C.J. had told her not to tell anyone else what had happened, but she figured she could tell her old friends. Not to mention she needed to talk to someone about Angel thinking Spike might be alive.  
"I have a lot on my mind. Did Giles tell you about Angel?"   
Dawn nodded, suddenly serious. "Yeah, Giles told us. How are you holding up?"   
It felt good to be around people she could fully confide in. "All right, but there's other stuff going on now. I'm done with work for the night. Why don't we talk in my office. IF you don't mind, I'll put off the tour until tomorrow."   
Dawn and Xander exchanged looks, "Of course we don't mind," Xander said.   
Willow led Dawn and Xander into her office. "Do you guys want anything to drink or anything? I can get something for you." Willow motioned for them to sit down.   
Dawn shook her head, "I'm fine."   
"Me too," Xander replied. "Why don't you just tell us what's going on?"   
Willow sighed. "Well, as you know Angel came to see me yesterday, to tell me that Spike had been seen in London. Well, after he left, I was upset."   
"That's understandable." Xander tried to comfort his friend.   
"Yeah, well... I was able to keep my mind off of it most of the day, because I was really busy. But I did something really stupid last night?"   
"How stupid?" Dawn asked.   
"Very stupid. You see earlier that day, I had had an argument with Sam."   
"He's the hottie you hate, right?"   
Willow allowed herself a small smile. "Yeah, Dawnie. He is."   
"What were you fighting about?" Xander asked.   
"Well, I don't really want to get into that much, but it involved taking the subject of gay rights out of a speech for next week."   
"Oh, I'm sorry Willow. Tara told me that you had been working on that pretty hard." Dawn frowned in concern.   
Willow felt her heart constrict at the mention of her ex-girlfriend. She knew that part of her would always love Tara. But their relationship just hadn't worked. Willow was glad that Tara was still part of the group back in Sunnydale.   
"Anyway, to take my mind off the Spike thing, I went to Sam's apartment late last night. I wanted to try to convince him that it should be in the speech. Well, we got into this bad argument. I mean really bad, worse than ones before. I... don't know why. But I kinda grabbed him and kissed him."   
Xander was shocked "You what? What happened to the whole 'gay now' thing?"   
Dawn's reaction was a little different. "Ohhh, smoochies for Willow! That's exciting. I'm glad you found someone! Just how handsome is he in person? I've seen him on T.V."   
Willow blushed, "He is really handsome, but we are NOT together. In fact, we still pretty much hate each other. And as for the whole 'gay now thing' I don't really know. I mean I guess I would describe myself as bisexual. Which I think makes sense, as much as I loved Tara, I also did love Oz, and I was totally in love with you, Xander so....." Willow trailed off. Even after they had briefly had a fling in high school, Willow had never really sat down and talked with Xander about how much she had loved him. She certainly didn't want to do it now. She could tell that Xander was a little uncomfortable.   
"Anyway," she continued. "It wasn't just smoochies."   
Xander was on his feet in a second. "You mean you... you and he... I mean you guys...."   
Dawn rolled her eyes. "She had sex with him, Xander. Is it really that hard to say? Do we get to hear details?" the teen asked.   
"NO!" Xander and Willow simultaneously shouted.   
Willow looked at her, "First of all, I just want to forget the whole thing happened. Secondly, you are wayyyy to young for details."   
Xander agreed, "And also, just ick!"   
Willow sighed. "Xander, the ick factor isn't really the problem. I mean even if Sam and I didn't hate one another, we still shouldn't have....I mean, he's my boss. And he's several years older than me. That' why I was in a meeting when you guys got here. Sam and I were talking to the Press Secretary, trying to figure out what to do."   
"So what are you going to do?" Dawn asked.   
"I'm not sure yet, C.J. wants to see Sam and me first thing in the morning." Willow glanced at her watch. "Hey, I was supposed to meet Donna for drinks, but why don't we go out to eat instead, that way Dawn can come along."   
"That'd be great. Donna's the one you hang out with a lot, right?" Xander had Willow talk about most of her coworkers, but he still had trouble keeping all their names straight."   
"Yeah, let me if she minds the change of plans." Willow picked up her phone, and dialed Donna's extension, hoping that she was at her desk. She was, and soon they had made plans to go to an all-night diner.   
Willow hung up and motioned to her friends. "Come on. Let's go get some food. Tony's has really good hot fudge sundaes."   
Xander and Dawn exchanged glances, "Are you sure you're going to be okay, Willow?" Xander asked.   
Willow shook her head. "It's going to be hard, but for right now I just want to put it out of my head, and spend time with my friends, okay?"   
The trio headed towards the Communications Bullpen to get Donna. Soon they were on their way to the diner. It was only about a 10 min. walk to the diner, and it was a nice night. The group was walking along, chatting pretty happily, when suddenly they heard a yell.   
"Get away from him!" a man's voice called out.   
Donna paled. "That sounded like bad."   
Willow, Xander, and Dawn all looked at each other. They knew what screaming usually meant in Sunnydale. They all hoped that it wasn't the same here.   
"It came from that direction." Xander pointed. They heard another yell, and the Sunnydalers took off, Donna running after them.   
The group entered an ally and stopped in horror. In the dim light they could see a man lying still on the ground. Another guy was being pinned against the wall, by what Willow could just make out to be a vampire.   
"Hey!" Willow shouted. The vamp turned and growled, dropping the guy he was holding. As he advanced Xander threw Willow a stake, as he went to check on the other man on the ground. Willow's instincts took over. She had been using the White House gym almost everyday, wanting to keep in shape. The training had helped. The vampire was soon dust. Willow panted, in both fear and a bit of excitement. She hadn't seen a vampire since leaving Sunnydale. Then she remember who else was with her.   
She turned to look at Donna. The assistant was in shock. "Willow, what the hell was that."   
Willow was at a loss for words. "Umm, well..."   
Then the man Xander was looking after called out. "Donna? Willow? Is that you?"   
Willow whipped around, her eyes had better adjusted to the light and she could now clearly see the man on the ground. "Josh." she breathed.   
"Willow!" Dawn called out.   
Willow turned her attention to Dawn, who had helped the man who the vampire had tried to drain. He was leaning on Dawn's shoulder, and as he stepped out of the shadow Willow could see his face. "Sam."   
  
Xander was the first to speak. "This is really bad."   
Willow could feel the blood drain from her face. "Yeah it is." Her instincts took over once again. "Is anyone seriously hurt?"   
Josh moaned. "I'm going to have some pretty serious bruises, but I'm alive. Of course I think I might be having hallucinations."   
Sam, still leaning on Dawn shook his head. "Not unless we're having the same ones. What the hell is going on? That guy bit me. He actually bit me!"   
Dawn looked at his neck and pulled a tissue out of her purse. "Here, hold this against the wound. It really isn't that bad."   
Sam took the tissue and pressed it against his neck. "What do you mean 'it's not that bad'? The guy bit me."   
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we already established that, but you'll be fine. I've had worse, a lot worse. All three of us have. Don't be such a baby."   
Willow spoke "Dawn, don't start anything. Things are going to be hard enough. Why don't we all go some where and talk."   
"Yeah" Donna finally spoke. "I'd like to talk about how that guy turned into dust, you know, right before my eyes."   
"I'd kind of like to hear an explanation of that too." Josh said, as Xander helped him to his feet. Once Xander made sure Josh would be okay on his own, he went over to Willow and pulled her aside.   
"Wills, what the hell are we going to do?" he asked her softly.   
Willow rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "I don't Xander. I guess we should listen to what they think they saw first." Turning to the others, she raised her voice.  
"Why don't we head to my apartment.   
It's not that far away. That way I can look at Josh and Sam's injuries. And we can talk in private."   
  
They made their way to Willow's place in silence. Willow unlocked her door, and ushered everyone inside.   
"I'm going to start some coffee. Dawn, will you go and get the first aid kit. It's in the bathroom, right through there." She pointed down the hall.   
"Sure." Dawn ran to get it as the others went into the living room. Willow flipped on the coffee maker and went to join them. Donna was checking on Josh's injuries. Dawn returned with the first aid kit, and Willow took it from her, going to Sam.   
"Here, let me see your neck." She reached her hand up, but Sam jerked away.   
"I can take care of it," he muttered.   
"Sam, come one. I know what I'm doing. Let me see how bad it is." Sam nodded, and removed the tissue he still had pressed against his neck. Willow noticed that the bleeding had basically stopped. She opened the first aid kit and got out a bottle of antiseptic, a cotton ball, and a bandage. "This might sting a little," she warned as she began to clean the wound.   
"He's going to be fine." Xander motioned towards Josh.   
"All right. Now that everyone's taken care of, are we going to talk about what the hell is going on?" Josh yelled. "Sam and I were on are way to get some drinks. All of the sudden, some guy drags Sam into the alley, I tried to help and he threw me to the ground. He was so strong, and something was wrong with his face. The next thing I know he has Sam up against a wall, and then you guys show up. I want to know why that guy turned to dust right in front of us. And more importantly I want to now why the hell you three weren't surprised by it!"   
"And I want to know why the hell he bit me!" Sam chimed in.   
Willow looked at Xander. She sighed deeply. "I guess you guys deserve to know what happened. But it's kind of a long story, so I'll give you the gist of it first, and if you think we're crazy then I won't bother with the rest of it."   
"This is really fucked up," Josh said.   
Donna hushed her boss, "Just tell us the gist then."   
"Okay." Willow sat down on the couch. Xander and Dawn sat beside her. "So....what do you know about vampires?"   
  
Josh blinked. "Did you say vampires?"   
Willow nodded. "Yeah."   
Sam thought for a moment. "Okay, lets see. They drink blood, they turn into bats and fly around, they hate garlic, and oh yeah, THEY DON'T EXIST!!" Sam yelled.   
Josh and Sam laughed a little, but Donna remained quiet.   
Dawn spoke up, "Well, you're right about the drinking blood thing. but they can't turn into bats, and they don't really mind garlic. You have to use a stake to kill them....or fire.   
"Or you can behead them," added Xander.   
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that one." Dawn said.   
"Well, it doesn't happen very often. Staking is a lot easier." Xander responded.   
"Guys!" Willow interrupted. "We can discuss the best way to kill them later. It's really not the point right now."   
Donna finally decided to speak, "You three are serious, aren't you?"   
"Yes, we are." Xander assured her.   
"Vampires aren't real." Josh insisted.   
"You saw that guy in the alley. You saw his face. And you can see the teeth marks he left on Sam. If he wasn't a vampire then what was he?" Willow raised an eyebrow.   
"I don't know. He could have been some gang member. Some kid messed up on PCP.!"   
Willow and Xander looked at each other and burst out laughing.   
"What's funny?" Sam asked.   
"That's what our old principal used to say when ever there was an attack involving the school." Willow explained.   
"You can't expect us to really believe this." Josh insisted   
"Vampires exist. Demons exist. Werewolves, witches, every nightmare from childhood, and things much worse than any child could ever imagine. They all exist. There not all evil, but many of them are. We fight them. We fight them with physical force, and with magic. Sometimes we lose. Xander and I have lost good friends, and countless classmates, so has Dawnie. Don't tell us they aren't real. Don't invalidate what we've been doing since sophomore year of high school."   
"You...your crazy" Sam stuttered. "Magic doesn't exist."   
"Really?" Willow allowed herself a small smile. She glanced around the room, her eyes settling on the bookcase on the far wall. She held out her arm and concentrated. The book shot off the self, across the room and into her waiting arm.   
She looked at the shocked expressions on her coworkers' faces. "You were saying?"   
"Oh, my God." Donna gasped. "How did you do that."   
"Magic." Willow said flatly. "It's all about emotional control. Not all magic is bad."   
"Okay, I don't know how to explain what just happened, but vampires? I just don't know if I can accept that." Sam said. Josh nodded his head in agreement.   
"I wish Angel were here. Then he could put on his vamp face. You couldn't deny it then."   
"Wait a minute. Isn't Angel that guy who came to see you yesterday?" Josh asked.   
"Yep, that was Deadboy." Xander confirmed.   
"You're telling us that he's a vampire. You're friends with a vampire?" Josh was confused.   
"Well 'friends' is a bit strong of a word." Xander said.   
"Xander!" Willow glared at her him, "Yes, Angel is our friend and a vampire. It's a really long story, but he has a soul. He's good."   
"And super hot!" Dawn added.   
"Okay. So why don't you tell us the whole story. I want to know how all of this happened. I want to know how you three got involved in all of this."   
"All right." Willow took a deep breath. "Into each generation a Slayer is born...." 


	4. Chapter 4

It took quite a while to tell the whole story. Willow told a lot of it, but Xander and Dawn spoke as well. They tried not to get into the real personal issues too much. Josh, Sam, and Donna listened raptly, and the Scoobies explained life on the hellmouth. Willow skipped the last part of her story-the night she was attacked-she just couldn't deal with telling it, and quite frankly, she didn't really think it was any of their business. 

There was a long silence afterwards. Then Donna spoke. "How do you deal with this? I mean, you are so young." 

"We have to deal with it." Dawn answered. "I mean, we couldn't exactly know what we know, and chose not to fight." 

"You saved Sam and me." Josh said. "Thank you." Josh cleared his throat and looked at Sam. 

"Yes. Thank you all. Ummm...especially...you...umm..thank you Willow." Sam finally managed to spit out. 

"This is the guy you decided to sleep with, Wills? What were you thinking?" 

"XANDER!" Willow's face turned bright red. 

"Wait a minute," Sam's voice rose, "you told them?" 

"I'm sorry, Sam. I know C.J. said not to. But I felt the need to confide in them." Willow genuinely did feel bad. 

"Look," Sam asked, "can I talk to you in the kitchen?" 

"Fine." Willow headed to the kitchen, and Sam followed after her. 

"I'm sorry. Sam, I just needed to tell them. I don't keep secretes from them." 

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean, I want to talk about what happened, but it's fine that you told your friends. I understand why you did. I don't want us to keep hating each other, Willow. We have a lot in common. We're both passionate about what we do, and we both try to stick to our ideals, even though it's hard in politics. I really regret what happened last night, but...." Sam trailed off. 

"But what?" Willow was starting to wonder if maybe she had misjudged Sam. Maybe they could work things out. 

Sam sighed, "I think that maybe something good can come of it. Maybe it will make us work through our dislike of each other. Maybe it will force us to learn to get along." 

"I really hope that we can." Willow agreed. Neither thought that it would be easy, but they were both willing to try, and that was a start. "All right," Willow said. "Why don't we rejoin the others?" 

The two went back to the living room, to find Dawn and Xander explaining to Josh and Donna the best ways to deal with vampires. Willow had to admit that everyone was taking it rather well. 

-Several weeks later- 

Things were going fairly well for Willow. The remainder for Dawn and Xander's visit had gone well. They had promised to return soon with the rest of the gang. No one in the press had found out about her dalliance with Sam, and C.J. had stopped shooting them death-ray looks. Sam and Willow were starting to get along better. They had a few fights, but they weren't as personal. They focused on politics, instead of attacking each other directly as they had before. 

But not everything was going well. Angel had updated Willow, telling her that he hadn't found any trace of Spike, but that he would continue to search. That had been 3 weeks ago. Willow hadn't heard from him since, she was trying not to get too worried about it. Right now she had more important things on her mind. She was expecting a call from her doctor anytime now. 

Willow's cell phone rang, and she answered. It was her doctor. Hopefully the news would be what she wanted. She paced her office as she waited for Dr. Sherman to tell her the news. She felt the blood drain from her face when he told her the results of her tests. She hung up the phone and sat down in shock. What was she going to do? 

Willow knew what she had to do. She was out of her office, and into SamÕs in seconds. Finding it empty, she rushed to Toby's office. 

"Where's Sam?" She asked, sticking her head in. 

Toby looked up from his work. "He's in a meeting with Leo." Toby studied Willow's face in concern. "Is something wrong?" But Willow was gone before he even finished the question. 

Willow practically ran to Leo's office. She stopped short at MargaretÕs desk. "Is Sam in there?" 

"Yes." Leo's assistant answered. "But they should be about done, Leo has another meeting in a few minuets. Is anything wrong, Willow?" 

"I just really need to talk to Sam." Willow sat down in a chair by LeoÕs door. She couldnÕt sit still. Her foot was tapping on the floor, and her hands were shaking. Finally after what seemed to Willow to be an eternity, the door opened, and Sam stepped out. 

"Sam!" Willow leapt from her seat. 

Sam looked at Willow in surprise. "Willow? What's wrong?" 

"We really need to talk." Willow grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him out of the office, and down the hall. She found an empty conference room, and dragged him inside. 

"Willow, what the hell is going on?" Sam was getting worried. HeÕd never seen Willow like this before. 

Willow took a deep breath. "I just got off the phone with my doctor." 

"Yeah?" 

"Sam, I don't know how to tell you this. I really don't think thereÕs a good way, you know? For a moment I thought about not telling you. But you deserve to know. And besides that I mean; it's not exactly something I could keep secret forever. You'd find out eventually. And really you have a right to know. So I have to tell you, I'm just kinda scared and all that, and I don't know what's going to happen, because this could change everything, and it could cause all kinds of problems. But at the same time, part of me is happy about it you know?" 

Sam just looked at her. "I think in that stream of babble, you said 'you know' about 10 times, but I have no clue what you're talking about." 

"Sam," Willow tried to keep her voice calm. "I'm pregnant." 

There was a long silence. Finally Sam spoke. "No, you're not." 

"Well, three store-bought pregnancy tests, and my doctor disagree with you." Willow almost smiled. 

"Wow. This is bad on so many levels." Sam grabbed a chair, and sunk into it. "What are you planning on doing?" 

Willow shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I am going to keep the baby, but apart from that I don't know what to do. I guess I have to talk to Leo, and to C.J." 

Sam looked up at her. "We. We have to talk to them." 

Willow smiled softly, "Yes, we. Thank you. I mean I don't know what to do. I'm really scared. I'm turning 22 in a few weeks, and I'm pregnant. This is really bad, and it's going to cause a lot of trouble. I mean when the press gets a hold of this....Ó Willow trailed off, "But at the same time, a part of me is really excited and happy. I mean, IÕm going to have a baby." 

As nervous as he now was, Sam's eyes shone brightly. "I'm going to be a father." Sam stood up and took Willow in his arms. Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing. 

Just then the door to the conference room opened. Sam and Willow didnÕt even notice. Not until a familiar voice rang out. 

"What in the hell are you two doing?" 

Willow and Sam immediately broke apart. Willow swallowed nervously. "Hey, Toby. How's it going?" 

Toby ignored Willow's question. He just glared at them. "Are you two insane?! When Kathy told me she thought she saw the two of you duck in here, I wasn't expecting to see you with you tongues down each other's throats!" 

Sam grimaced. "Toby, I'm sorry. It just kind of happened. We didn't come in here looking for a place to make-out or anything" 

"Well regardless of what you meant to do Sam. This kind of thing cannot just happen. You're lucky that the press didn't find out about what happened between you guys the first time. Are you hoping that a reporter catches wind of this or something?" 

Willow spoke up, "The thing is, Toby, the press is going to have to find out." 

Toby looked at her. "What are you talking about? Tell me you two aren't planning on starting dating or anything." 

"Toby," Willow sighed, "I'm pregnant. Sam's the father." 

"Oh, Jesus." Toby rubbed his eyes. "Have you told C.J?" 

"Toby, she just told me." Sam explained. "I got a little excited thinking about being a father. That's why we were kissing. It was just the excitement." 

"This is really bad." 

"Thanks for the support, Toby." Willow rolled her eyes. 

"Are you keeping it?" He asked. 

"Yes, we are," Sam answered. 

Toby stared at Sam, then at Willow, then back at Sam. "Are you two together?" 

"No," Sam replied. "But we are having a child together. And who knows what the future may hold." 

Willow glanced at Sam, shocked, "You mean that?" 

Sam shrugged. "Well, we do end up together in various situations. There's got to be a reason for that." 

"You should get married." 

"What?" Sam looked at Toby in disbelief. 

"Well, it'd make it a lot easier." Toby explained. "We'd be able to spin two staffers getting married a lot better than a young staffer getting pregnant following a one-night stand with her boss." 

"We're not going to get married just so our baby is easier to spin!" Sam yelled. 

Despite herself, Willow almost smiled at Sam's outburst. It made her happy to see him stand up to Toby. 

Toby looked at his deputy appraisingly. "I know. I know. Look, you two have to talk to C.J. And would it kill you to at least be dating or something?" 

Sam studied the woman who was carrying his child. A few months ago he had hated her. Now...now he really wasn't sure. They had slept together, she had saved his life. He had learned things about her, and what she had gone through living on a hellmouth, that had given him great respect for her. She had fought evil for years, though she had no duty to, she had risked death countless times to help save others. And now, she was carrying his child. He wasn't even really sure why he had hated her. Yeah, they had disagreed on some things, but they shared the same ideals. The fire that she had was usually something that drew him to women. But for some reason he hadn't been able to see past what he had interpreted as an arrogant little girl who was out of her depth. Now he knew that she hadn't been out of her depth. That's probably one of the things that had made her fight him so hard. Maybe she had been trying to prove herself since he had dismissed her the first time they met. Sure, they had still had arguments these past few weeks, but there was something there that hadn't been there before: respect. 

"No." Sam said, answering Toby's question. "I suppose it wouldn't." 

Willow looked at the floor. "Sam, don't feel that you have to date me just because I'm pregnant. What happened was my responsibility just as much as yours, more even." 

"That's not why I want to date you." Sam locked eyes with her. 

Toby sighed uncomfortably, "Dear God you two have problems. Talk to C.J. and work out your feelings later. Let's go to her office." 

TBC 

Next part: Now we kinda know how Sam feels, so how about Willow? And how will C.J. react? 

Coming soon: Angel returns! More vampirey stuff. And how much does the President know about Willow?


	5. Chapter 5

---C.J.'s Office--- 

C.J. sat on the edge of her desk. Willow and Sam when in chairs in front of her. Toby was standing behind them, by the door. 

"So let me make sure I've got this right." C.J. looked at Willow. "You're pregnant. And you," C.J. glared at Sam, "are the father. You slept together, even though you hated each other. Now just weeks later you no longer hate each other, and in fact Sam thinks that maybe you two should date." 

Willow couldn't meet C.J.'s glare. "Yeah, that's right." 

C.J. shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to quit my job, right now. My god, we have enough going on without this. What the hell is the matter with you two?" 

"I'm sorry, C.J. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Willow genuinely felt bad. She knew C.J. hated having to deal with scandals like this. It would just end up taking away from real news. 

C.J. softened a little. She could tell Willow really was sorry. "Well, whatever may happen as a result of this mess: congratulations. You'll be a great mother. And Sam, can I just request that you don't sleep with anyone at all until we're out of the white house." 

Sam started to speak, then thought better of it. Willow looked over at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Seeing him, really looking at the man who would be her child's father, she couldn't figure out why she had hated him so much. She certainly didn't hate him now. 

C.J. let out a sigh. "Well. I guess Leo should be told. We also need to decide the best way to announce this to the press. I want it to be us breaking the story." 

"I'll write something up." Toby said. 

"Good. Willow, have you told anyone else yet? Do your parents, or your friends from home know?" 

Willow shook her head. "I haven't told anyone. We have that fundraiser in L.A. next week. I thought I'd see if I could get sometime off drive to Sunnydale. I'd really like to do it in person." 

"All right. I think we could hold the story until after that. I'll announce it in a press conference as soon as we get back." C.J. smiled at the young redhead. She didn't want to make this any harder on her. "It actually shouldn't be all that bad. You and Sam will get attacked, but it's not like it's something that you'll lose your job over. Now, I have work to do. Go talk to Leo." 

-One Week Later.- Air Force One 

Willow sat in her plane seat, gripping the armrests tightly. She hated flying; even in a plane as nice as the one she was one. Adding to that tension was the fact that she would be letting her friends know that she was pregnant. She knew she shouldn't be nervous about it. But she was. On the other hand, it would be good to be with her friends again, especially Buffy and Xander. She knew that they would comfort her. She knew that they would always be there for her. 

"Willow?" 

Willow looked up to see the President's assistant standing by her. "Hi Charlie. What's up?" 

"The President would like a word with you." Charlie answered. 

"Right now?" 

Charlie nodded. Willow got up and followed Charlie down the aisle. He opened a door and motioned for Willow to go through. 

President Bartlet sat with his back to the door. Willow could tell he was looking through some papers. She cleared her throat. 

"You wanted to see me Mr. President." Willow stood in the doorway. 

Bartlet turned around and smiled. "Yes, Willow. Please have a seat." 

"Thank you, Sir. Willow sat down across from him. She was a little nervous. She had no idea why he wanted to see her. 

"How are you doing?" 

"I'm doing well, Sir. Thank you for asking." 

Bartlet smiled fondly. "I remember when Abby was pregnant with Liz. I was a nervous wreck. I was worse than she was." 

Willow grinned. "Did it get any easier the second or third time?" 

He shook his head. "Not really. So Leo tells me your going to your hometown to tell your friends and family." 

"Yes, Sir." What could this be about, she wondered. 

"And Sam's going with you." 

Willow rolled her eyes. "He's insisting. He's afraid to let me out of his sight." 

"Well, you be careful. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you or the baby. Or to Sam. You'll keep them safe, won't you? You'll be careful in Sunnydale?" 

Willow had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Of course, Sir." 

"I just think that you'd do a better job or protecting him, then he would of protecting you." President Bartlet starred at her meaningfully. 

Willow swallowed hard. "Mr. President...." 

"Those weren't muggers that attacked Josh and Sam a few months back, were they. I know that's the story they told. That you and your friends saved them from a couple of thugs. I also know that's not the truth. What I want to know is, did you tell them what they had really been attacked by?" 

Willow looked at him, surprised. "How do you...." Then she figured it out. "The Initiative." 

Bartlet nodded. "Yes. I know about The Initiative. In fact, I was studying their file on you and your friends when you came in." 

Willow didn't really know how to react. She wanted to know how detailed those files were. She wanted to know how much the President knew about all of this. 

"How long have you known about what I did in Sunnydale?" She asked. 

"Since I became President. The information on your group in Sunnydale was one of the first things I was told about. Between them and the information from the Watcher's Council, I know a lot about you." 

"Like what?" 

"Well, I know you didn't get those scars from a car accident, like you've told everyone else." Bartlet said gently. "I know that it was a vampire named Spike." 

Willow looked at the floor. "I really don't want to talk about that." 

"I understand that Willow. And I wouldn't ask you to. But you should find someone here you can talk to about it. You should talk to Sam." He looked at her, trying to gage her response. 

Willow shook her head. "I don't think I'm really that close to Sam, not yet anyway." Though I would like to be, she thought. As worried as she was about Sam coming to Sunnydale with her, she was kind of glad too. She hoped that the time together would bring them closer. She really had started to like Sam, and she was happy that he would be a real father to their child. 

"Do you have a named picked out yet?" President Bartlet asked. Feeling it was best to change the subject. 

Willow smiled. "Yeah. Jesse if it's a boy, Joyce if it's a girl." 

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"Those are lovely names." 

"Thank you, Sir. So you know about the Spike situation. But that couldn't be from the Initiative's files could it? I mean, they aren't in Sunnydale anymore." Willow was a little confused. 

"As I mentioned, I have received information from the Watcher's Council as well. I also know that your friend Angel is in Europe looking for Spike." 

Willow was shocked. "No offense, Sir. But this is all a little creepy. I mean, I knew that Giles made reports to the Council and everything; but I never thought that my whole life would be on file somewhere. I guess I know how someone like Angel must feel, with all of his life being in the Watcher's Diaries." 

"Ah, the Diaries. They are interesting reading aren't they?" Bartlet stood to get himself a drink. Willow started to stand, but he motioned for her to remain seated. "Would you care for a scotch? Wait, never mind. You're pregnant. Abbey would have my head." 

Willow nodded. "Thank you anyway, Sir. Yes, the Diaries are fascinating. I haven't been able to get my hands on many of them, unfortunately." 

"I've only read a few of them myself. Look, Willow. The reason I brought you in here; I know that telling Josh and Sam was probably unavoidable. But you broke some pretty high security levels doing it. Don't worry, nothings going to happen to you because of it. But you absolutely cannot tell anyone else. If anything happens, were you think you have to, you come to me first, all right?" 

"Of course, Mr. President." Willow was abashed. 

Bartlet felt the need to lighten the mood a little. Willow was young enough to be his daughter. In fact, she was younger then two of his children. As unprofessional as it was, he had some fatherly feelings for the girl. "Hey, did you know that the Evelnenz demon will explode if they ingest milk?" 

Willow smiled slightly. She liked the bits on inane trivia he offered people, although if you were stuck with him when he felt like giving an hour-long lecture of the history of the typewriter, it could drive you crazy. But most of the time she found the trait endearing. "In fact I did know that. Did you know that the Nekelvan demon, which looks almost exactly like the Evelnenz demon will grow much stronger if it ingests milk?" 

Bartlet paused of a moment, "You'd probably want to be careful about that then." 

"Yes, Sir." 

"Well, Toby probably wants you to be working on the speech. So, if I don't see you before you leave, I just want to say, be careful, and good luck." 

Willow stood, "Thank you, Mr. President." She left the room, and went to find Toby, knowing that he'd want her to work for the rest of the flight. She would be glad to do it. It would give her something to think about, other than what would happen when she got to Sunnydale. 


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N: Okay so the latest parts havenÕt been nearly as long as the first ones. There is a reason for this.I am posting this story foremost on a mailing list.When I was posting more frequently, I would wait until I had posted several parts, then I would group them together in one part, and post them here. (What is chapter 7 here, is really part 20) Now that I have slowed down, I have decided to post each part here as I post it other places.So chapters will be shorter.)

A few hours later 

Willow sat in the car she had rented.She looked out the window at the Summers' house. This was it. She had to go tell her friends that she was pregnant.Sam took his her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. 

"It'll be okay," he said gently. Willow turned to look at him.Their eyes meet and for a moment they just sat in silence, looking at each other. Willow finally broke the silence. 

"Thank you, Sam.For everything. You've been great helping me deal with Toby and C.J. and everyone else.I'm sorry that this whole mess happened.I know that it's not what either of us wanted. But I just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you've been supportive." 

Sam smiled. "I'm glad to be here for you, Willow.You're right that neither of us expecting this to happen, but now that it is happening I want you to know that if you ever need anything, I'll be here." 

"But I don't want you to feel obligated to be with me, Sam. I know you want to be part of our child's life, but you don't have to be part of mine if you don't want to be. I know that it might make things easier as far as the press is concerned, but I don't want to stop you from living your life."Willow fought to hold back tears.Her feelings for Sam had really grown, but she didn't want to force him into anything he didn't want to be a part of. 

Sam drew Willow's hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on it."Willow, I do want to be a part of our babies life."He paused."But I want to be part of your life as well. I know that these past weeks, since the night you saved my life, haven't been perfect. I know that we've still had some fights.But I've really started to see you with different eyes.I really like you Willow, and I hope that our relationship can grow into something more." 

Willow felt her eyes fill with tears. She had been so hoping that he would say that, but she never expected that he actually would.She learned towards him slowly, and their lips met in a soft kiss.They had kissed before, but it had never been like this. Their past kisses had been angry and harsh, and had been the odd results of fights.But this was different.This was gentle, it was romantic, and it was heaven.They broke apart again just looked at each other for a moment.This time it was Sam who broke the silence. 

"I guess we should go in and tell your friends the news." 

Willow nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, let's go." 

Sam got out first, and went to the passenger side, opening the door for Willow.She smiled at him and the two walked hand in hand to the Summers' house.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Before Sam and Willow could even get to the door it was thrown open 

"Willow!" Willow quickly found her arms full of the littlest Summers. 

"Dawnie, baby. It's good to see you too, sweetie." 

Dawn pulled away from Willow and turned to Sam. "Why are you here?" She asked bluntly. 

Willow rolled her eyes. "Dawn. Be nice. Sam's here cause he's my friend. And for other reasons that we'll get into later. Come on, let's go inside. I want to see everybody." As Dawn headed in, Willow and Sam lagged behind a bit. She smiled at him, and then looked down at her stomach, laying her hand on it. She hadn't begun to show yet, but she knew she would soon. She was excited and nervous at the same time. But for now, all she was really worried about was going inside and telling her friends. 

Sam placed his hand on the small of Willow's back, and guided her into the house. He took a step back, as she was immediately surrounded by her old friends. 

"Wills!" Xander hugged her tightly. He had just seen her a few weeks ago, but it seemed like a lot longer. He still wasn't use to not seeing his best friends everyday. As soon as Xander let go, Buffy hugged Willow, then it was Giles' turn. Even Anya wanted a hug. 

After all the hugs were finished, Willow introduced Sam to Buffy, Anya and Giles, as the other Scoobies had met him in D.C. As soon as Willow had said his name, Buffy had scowled. 

"Wait a minute. *This* is Sam? As in, jerky guy you slept with Sam?" She took a few steps towards him. 

Willow stepped in-between the Slayer and Sam. "Buffy, listen. Sam and I have worked everything out. We're fine now. In fact, we've decided to start seeing each other." 

Everyone looked a little taken aback, but they seemed happy that Willow had found someone to make her happy. 

Willow cleared her throat. "That's not all though. There is a definite reason for my visit. I didn't want to tell you over the phone, or have you hear it from the press. Gosh, I nervous. I don't know how to tell you guys this. I mean, it's good news, but if you look at it a different way, it might not be. I mean I hope that you'll be happy for me, but I'll understand if youÕre concerned. I'm a little concerned myself, actually so...." 

Xander couldn't help but smile. He had missed Willow's babbling. "It's okay, Wills. Just tell us what's going on." 

Sam came and stood behind Willow. He put his hands on her shoulders, showing his support. She turned and smiled up at him, then turned back to her friends. "Guys, I'm pregnant." 

There was a stunned silence for a long moment. Dawn was the first to break it. "Oh, Willow. You're going to make such a great mother. I'm so happy for you." 

After Dawn broke the ice, everyone offered their congratulations. There was another round of hugs. Xander offered to go make tea, and Willow went with him. As Xander set the water to boil, and got out cups, Willow just studied him. 

"So, how do you feel about being Uncle Xander?" Willow asked. 

A grin spread across Xander's face. "Uncle Xander, huh? I guess I like the sound of that. I can't believe you're going to be a mother." 

Willow could tell something was wrong. Other people probably would have missed it, but she had known Xander forever. "What's wrong, Xan?" 

He sighed. "It's just.... YouÕre having a kid with Sam. You already have a job in Washington, and know you have even more reason to stay there. Willow, I wouldn't wish living on the hellmouth on my worst enemy. I know it's not safe here, and I certainly wouldn't want you to raise a kid here, but when you took the job at the White House, I always selfishly hoped that you would be back here to stay eventually. And now...." 

Willow looked at Xander with wide eyes. She had no idea that he felt that way. "Oh, Xander. I'm so sorry. I always thought that I would be coming back too. I mean, after what happened with Spike, I had to leave, but I never thought it would be for good. But Xander, I'm not going to abandon you guys. I'll come back whenever I can. I honestly don't know what the future is going to hold, but I do know that you are always going to be my best friend. I mean, hey, someone's going to have to teach my little boy or girl how to do the snoopy dance. I want all of you, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Anya, all of you, to be part of my kidÕs life. And part of my life. I love you. Nothing could ever change that." Willow pulled Xander into a tight hug. 

They were both startled when the doorbell rang. They heard Dawn say that she'd get it. Then they heard her shocked, "Oh, my God." They looked at each other and hurried out of the kitchen to see what could have gotten such a response. They both stopped short when they saw who was standing in the doorway. 

"Angel," Willow gasped. 


	9. Chapter 9

"Willow." Angel stood in the doorway of the Summers house. Angel looked over the rest of the gang. It still hurt a little to see Buffy, he guessed that it always would, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it use to be. He knew that his future simply wasn't with her. His eyes settled on a figure he didn't know.

"Angel, this is Sam Seaborn. Sam, this is Angel." Willow made the introduction.

Angel nodded at Sam, then refocused on the reason he was there. "Willow. I need to talk to you."

Willow was nervous, she knew this had to be about Spike. "Of course, let's all go into the living room." The group made there was into the other room. Willow sat close to Sam, grasping his hand tightly.

Angel paced the room in front of the others. "As you know, I was in Europe investigating reports that Spike had been seen there. I didn't want to tell you what I found over the phone."

Willow bit her lip. She didn't like the sound of this. "What did you find, Angel?"

"I have no reason to believe that Spike is still around. I tracked reports of him for weeks. It turns out news of his death hadn't reached Europe yet. Some fledgling was trading on his name, using the fame of the scourge of Europe to gain power. He got stupid, claimed he was William the Bloody in front of some people who actually knew Spike."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Willow buried her head in Sam's shoulder. "Thank the goddess," she murmured. Sam stroked her hair gentle, unsure of what was happening, but wanting to comfort her.

To everyone's surprise, Xander stood up and shook Angel's hand. "Hey, man. Thank you for doing this."

Angel shook his head slightly, "I just had to make sure he was really gone. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself otherwise."

Willow pulled away from Sam, and went to give Angel a hug. "Thank you so much, Angel. For everything."

"You're pregnant?" Angel asked softly.

Willow looked at him in confusion. "How did you..."

He smiled, "I can hear their heart beats."

Willow returned his grin. Then her smile faded. "Wait a minute. Did you say *their* heat *beats*?" she asked, emphasizing the plural.

"Three of them. Didn't you know?"

Sam was on his feet in a second. "Triplets? We're having triplets?"

"I didn't know." Willow said. "I mean, I only found out I was pregnant last week. Triplets! Oh, Sam!" Willow flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"That's great, Willow!" Buffy couldn't have been happier for her best friend. She knew that Willow would be a wonderful mother, if it the pregnancy had been far from planned. There was another round of congratulations, and yet another round of hugs.

Finally, when everyone had quieted down, Sam turned to Willow. "Fell free to tell me that it's none of my business, but who is this Spike guy?"

Willow took a deep breath. She hadn't told anyone outside of the Scoobies what had happened to her that night. But she wanted to tell Sam. She wanted him to know about her life, and how she had ended up working at the White House. She trusted and respected him, and she thought she might just be falling in love with him.

"Why don't we go someplace, and I'll tell you all about it." Willow led Sam out of the room. It was still light out, so she took him to the back yard. She went to the swing set, and sat down, motioning for Sam to sit too. When he did, Willow turned to him. "This isn't an easy story to tell, and it probably won't be easy to hear. Spike was a vampire who came to town several years ago...."


	10. Chapter 10

"I told you about how Angel used to be big old evil, right?" Willow asked Sam. When he nodded, she continued. "Well, Angel is Spike's grandsire. That means that Angel sired Dru, who sired Spike. The three of them, along with Angel's sire Darla, were known as the Scourge of Europe. They killed and tortured countless people. Anyway, several years ago Spike came to town with Drusilla. She had been attacked by a mob in Prague, and was really weak. In order to cure her they needed to do a spell. They needed Angel to do it. Anyway. Spike tried to kill us all a few times. Before he could do what he needed to to cure Dru, Buffy stopped him. A church collapsed on top of him, and we thought he was dead. Turned out he wasn't. It was soon after we found that out, that Angel lost his soul, making him all evil again. He wanted to end the world. Spike betrayed him and came to Buffy offering a deal. He would help her stop Angelus, and in return he and Dru would get safe passage out of town.

But when Dru left him, Spike broke the deal and came back to town. He kidnapped Xander and I, hoping to get me to do a love spell. There were a few more times that he tried to kill us, but then something happened. He got a chip put in his head. He couldn't hurt human beings. So he started to help us. At first we were all sure that it was just so we would protect and feed him. But he really seemed to become part of the group, though no one really completely trusted him, except me, and Dawnie."

Willow paused to take a breath. Sam studied her. He had never seen her look so vulnerable. It scared him a little. He knew that whatever it was that Spike had done, it had to be really bad.

"Are you sure you're okay with telling me this?" He asked. He really wanted to know what happened, but not if telling the story would hurt Willow.

Willow nodded. "I really want you to know the truth, especially if we're going to have a future together. Willow found herself looking at the ground, knowing she'd never be able to get it all out if she looked at Sam.

"I came home one night and Spike was in my kitchen. I was a little surprised, but I didn't really think anything of it at first. But pretty soon I could tell something was wrong. He was acting differently. He had this whole predator thing going on, which I hadn't seen in him in a long time. Apparently something had happened to his chip. I'm not sure what. I guess I had deluded myself into thinking that somehow the chip was the equivalent as a soul. I genuinely had thought he had changed...." She trailed off and 

was silent for a moment. Sam could see tears filling her eyes. He clasped her hand, and squeezed it tightly. Willow squeezed back, and drew a deep breath.

"He blew a powder in my face. It was a type of root that repressed magic, so I couldn't use any spells or anything to defend myself. Before I fully knew what was happening, Spike had knocked me unconscious. When I came to I was in my room, tied to my bed. Spike said that he was going to have fun with me. He pulled out a knife."

"Oh God" Sam gasped. "Willow..."

"That's were I got all of these scars. I wasn't in any car wreck. They're all from Spike." Willow's voice shook. "I passed out a few times, but he'd stop and wait until I woke up before he started again. When he got tired of the knife he turned to matches Eventually, he got bored with that too. He bit me in several places, drank quite a bit of my blood.. He....he....he tore off my clothes. He got on top of me. And that's when Angel burst in. He pulled Spike off of me and the two fought. Angel won. The last 

thing I saw before I passed out was Spike crumbling into dust." Willow now had tears streaming down her face. Sam went over to her and gathered her into his arms.

"Oh, God. Willow. I'm so sorry. I can't believe that you had to go through that." He stroked her hair gently, letting her cry into his shoulder. After a few moments, Willow regained her composer, but Sam still held her tightly.

Willow continued with her story. "Angel was in town, because Giles had a book he needed to borrow. He says he has no idea why he went for a walk that night, why he felt drawn to walk down my street. He just felt like he was supposed to for some reason. He would have walked right by the house, but he could smell blood. He realized something must be wrong. When nobody answered when he knocked at the door, he broke down the door. I'm lucky he had been there before and didn't need an invitation. If he hadn't come when he did...Spike would have raped me. He would have killed me, or even worse, turned me."

Willow began crying again and Sam held her, wishing that there was more he could do, wishing that there was anything he could do. The woman he loved, the mother of his unborn child -no, children- had been hurt more than anything Sam had ever experienced, and he couldn't do anything. Except be here, and hold her. Sam wished that he could do more. But for Willow, it was enough.

TBC

Next part is happy, I promise.


	11. Chapter 11

7 months later-February 

"What the hell are you doing here, Willow?" Toby asked as soon as he saw the VERY pregnant young woman enter the Communications Bullpen. 

Willow rolled her eyes, "Nice to see you too, Toby." 

Toby just looked at her. "You're not supposed to be here. You're due any day now. Go home." 

Willow put her hands on her hips, and stared back at her boss. "Tonight's the State of the Union. Which, in case you've forgotten, isn't locked down yet. I'm here to work, Toby." 

Toby almost smiled, "While I appreciate you're dedication, you could go into labor at any minute. Does Sam know you're here?" 

"Sam is not the boss of me!" Willow paused. "Well, yes, actually he is the boss of me. But I'm not going any where. I've worked hard on this speech, and I want to see it to the finish." 

Toby raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, but I'm not defending you once Sam finds out. You really should be at home, relaxing. You should watch the speech from your apartment." 

Willow scoffed, "Even if I was a home, you know there is no way I could relax. It's the State of the Union for gods sake. I'm not going to miss it." She flashed Toby a smile, "I'll be in my office. Please don't' go out of your way to tell Sam that I'm here. The longer it takes him to find out, the more work I can get done. He'll totally freak out, and I'd really like to put that off as long as possible...." Willow trailed off as she noticed Toby was staring past her. "He's right behind me, isn't he?" Willow turned and saw Sam standing there, his arms crossed, a frown on his face. "Ummm, hi, Sweetie. How's it going?" 

Sam just looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Go home. Now." He said firmly. 

Willow glared at him, hard, "Excuse me?" 

Sam cleared his throat nervously, "Um, I mean, you should probably go home. Please." 

"Sam, I'm staying. I want to be here for everything today. I'm not going to miss the State of the Union." 

Knowing that there was no way he would convince her to go home, and not wanting to piss her off, Sam decided not to press the issue.

"Okay, but be careful. Try to take is as easy as you can." 

Toby had had enough. "Okay everybody. Enough of this. We have work to do. Sections 8, 15, and 17 need to be repolished, and the President isn't happy with section 5. Sam take 8, Willow take 15. I'll work on 17 and 5. Be in my office in a hour with ideas. I want this done before lunch. Let's do this people. 

*That Night* 

Willow was both extremely happy, and extremely nervous. The speech was done. In fact, the President would be delivering it in about half an hour. Willow couldn't wait to see it. She still couldn't quite believe that she had helped to write a State of the Union address. Willow pulled the dress she was going to wear off its hanger. It had taken her forever to find one that she could wear pregnant. But she had finally managed to find a beautiful, but simple, blue dress. She had just finished changing into it, when there was a knock on her office door. 

"Willow, it's me. Are you ready to go?" 

"Yeah, just give me a second." Willow called. That's when it happened. "Oh, God." 

"Willow, what is it? What's wrong?" Sam asked. He tried the knob, but the door was locked. "Willow!" The door opened, and Willow stood there, ashen faced. 

"Sam, my water just broke." Willow smiled nervously. "I think I need to get to the hospital." 

*Several Hours Later* 

Willow had never felt pain like the pain of giving birth. But all thoughts of that disappeared the moment she held her triplets in her arms. Two girls, and a boy: Joyce, Jenny, and Jesse. Named after the important people whom she had lost in her years on the hellmouth: The woman who had been more of a mother to her than her real mother ever was, the woman who had been an idol and mentor, and the boy who had been one of her best friends. 

For now the triplets had been taken to the nursery. Willow was relaxing in her hospital bed. Waiting for her friends to arrive. From what Sam had been told over the phone, the speech had gone very well. C.J. was bringing over a tape of it, so that Willow and Sam could watch it. Sam had also called the Sunnydale gang to tell them the good news. They would be visiting as soon as they could, probably in shifts, so they wouldn't leave the hellmouth unprotected. 

Willow looked up as Sam reentered the room, a cup of tea in his hand. He looked tried, but happy. The two smiled at each other, and Sam walked over, seating on the edge of Willow's bed. He set his tea aside, and just gazed at Willow for a moment, brushing a strand of hair gently out of her eyes. 

"Willow," Sam started, "I've been thinking..." 

"Yeah?" Willow asked a little sleepily. 

"I want you to marry me." 

"What?" Suddenly, Willow felt wide awake. 

"I love you, Willow. Will you marry me?" 

Willow's face lit up in a brilliant smile. "Yes, Sam. I'll marry you." 

Sam leaned over and place a gentle kiss on her lips. Willow couldn't image ever being happier than she was at that moment. She had three beautiful children, and now she would have a husband. For the first time since the incident with Spike, Willow was completely happy. No doubts, no fears, just happiness. She knew that the feeling would last forever. But she would enjoy it while it lasted, and she knew that more moments like this lay in her future.


End file.
